Double Deal

Chapter 2

Lola was asleep when Kharis got home. Lola heard the door slam shut. She groggily sat up and walked into the living room. “Kharis, what the hell? It’s 2 in the morning,” Lola rubbed her eyes.

“Sorry, I was, uhm, busy,” Kharis said, her words slurred and her hair messy.

“Yeah, I can tell.”

“I’m just gonna go to my room,” Kharis said, stumbling past Lola and walking down the hallway.

Lola turned and looked at her in awe, a single eyebrow raised. In the morning Kharis woke up late, already finding Lola washing her bowl that she ate breakfast in. “You're up late,” Lola said, shutting the water off.

“My head is killing me,” Kharis said, leaning against the counter with her head resting on her hands.

“Well considering you got home at 2 in the morning drunk-” Lola said.

Kharis looked at her in awe, “I did?”

Lola nodded. Kharis put her head back in her hands, murmuring something under her breath. Lola thought she heard the name ‘Hyram.’

“So what happened?” Lola asked.

“Nothing.” Kharis said simply, “I was just drinking.”

“Kharis. You never just drink,” Lola looked at her.

“I just wasn’t feeling good last night, so I drank.”

Lola shook her head, “Alcohol does not solve your problems,” Lola flicked her forehead.

“I’m gonna be fine, don’t worry. I just made a stupid choice,” Kharis said, rubbing her forehead.

“I’ll see you later, I gotta head to work,” Lola said, heading to the front door. She grabbed her keys and headed off.

She got to work at the same time as Tom, smiling. “Hey there,” He said, patting her head. “You’re in a good mood.”

“Yeah, because I get to look at you,” Lola said.

Tom stopped, his cheeks turning pink. He swallowed, his Adam's apple moving. “Good one,” He said, clearing his throat as Lola laughed.

Lola looked at him, opening the door to the locker room. She opened her locker. “Hey, I talked to that guy from the other day.”

Tom looked at her surprised, “Did you tell him your name?”

“Yeah, he-”

“Why would you do that?” Tom interrupted.

Lola looked at him, confused. “He just needed to back up my claim about how I knew Mei Morgan. Besides, he would have seen my name tag and used process of elimination.”

“That’s not the point Lola. If you had just stayed anonymous-”

“Why does it matter?” Lola asked, finishing putting her apron and visor on.

“Lola all I’m saying is-” Tom started.

“Whatever. We’re late opening up,” Lola said, storming out of the locker room.

She opened up the cafe, flipping the sign and unlocking the front door just as Tom came out of the locker room. “Lola,” Tom tried to tell her.

“We don’t have time right now Tom, we’re supposed to be preparing for the day,” Lola passed him without looking at him.

She walked straight to the coffee counter, preparing different brews. Tom was going to try to talk to Lola again, but a customer walked in. “Hello, what can I get for you today?” Tom asked.

The customer ordered and Lola started making the drink. Soon customers started piling in. Tom didn’t get a chance to talk to Lola at all that day until their shift was over. Lola walked back into the locker room before Kharis and Hyram had come out to take their place. She walked on Kharis whispering something angrily to Hyram. “What’s going on in here?” Lola asked.

Kharis and Hyram jumped at the sound of Lola’s voice. Kharis turned, “Just yelling at Hyram for being late.”

Hyram rubbed the back of his neck, smiling awkwardly. “Ha~” He laughed.

“Exactly, your shift already started and Tom is out there alone with the workload,” Lola said, opening her locker.

Kharis nodded, glaring at Hyram then walked out of the locker room. By the time Tom got into the locker room, Lola was already leaving. “Lola, please. I didn’t-” Tom said.

But Lola already walked away. He gave the door an irritated look and opened his locker.

Lola ran into Ajax. “Oh, hi,” She said, stopping.

“Hey. Is your shift over?” Ajax asked.

“Yeah, just finished.”

“Would you like a coffee? I can buy it for you,” He offered.

Lola was going to turn down his offer, but decided against it. “Sure, why not.”

Ajax smiled and nodded towards the front of the cafe, “Let’s go.”

Lola followed him into the cafe, Hyram was at the register taking orders. Eventually it was Ajax and Lola’s turn to order. “Hello, what can I get for you today?” Hyram asked, smiling at Lola.

“I will get a Caramel Macchiato,” Ajax turned to Lola, “What do you want?”

“I’ll get my usual Hyram,” Lola answered.

Hyram tapped the screen a few times. Ajax paid for the coffees and they walked over to the coffee counter waiting for another employee to finish making their drinks. When they did, they grabbed them and walked out of the cafe. “Lola, can I have your number?” Ajax asked.

“So soon? I know you just bought me coffee and everything, but my number already? Wow, you're brave,” Lola joked.

Ajax couldn’t help but smile, “That’s not how I meant it. What I meant was can I have your number if I ever need to contact you for the investigation,” Ajax clarified.

“Aren’t you a little young to be a detective?” Lola asked, holding out her hand, which Ajax promptly handed her his phone.

“Well technically…” Ajax said while Lola tapped his phone screen, “I’m not even a cop, but my Uncle is dealing with the case and I’m helping him. I sometimes help him with his police work.”

Lola handed Ajax back his phone, “Really? Wow, so helpful,” Lola smiled, “Anyway, Ajax Ross, I must depart now. You can text me for stuff other than the investigation though.”

With that, Lola turned and walked away, leaving Ajax to watch her. Tom listened in on the conversation from around the corner, thinking. He walked out, adjusting his sleeve. Ajax had started walking away already.

Lola got home and put her keys away. She sighed and sat down on the couch, eventually accidentally falling asleep. Kharis woke her up once again from shutting the front door. “I’m going to my room, my head hurts.”

“What really happened between you and Hyram?” Lola asked.

Kharis gave her the finger and continued walking into the hallway. Lola smiled just as her phone vibrated. She had gotten a text:

Unknown: Hello Lola Reeds :)

Lola shook her head, and replied.

L: Ajax Ross. You texted so quickly. Is your life really that boring?

A: Sadly yes. I have a question for you. How long have you known Tom Collins?

L: I’ve known him since I started working at the cafe a few years ago. Why?

A: Has he been OCD since you’ve known him?

L: Yes, for as long as I’ve known him he’s been obsessively compulsive.

A: Has he ever had any particular interest in Greek mythology?

L: Well considering it was his major in college, I would say he had at least some interest in it.

A: He told you he majored in Greek mythology? Did he ever prove it to you?

L: He has an extensive knowledge of Greek mythology, with all the names and stories, I’ll tell you now, he’s proven it.

She thought it was weird how long it took Ajax to respond after that.

A: Lola, what I’m about to tell you is very serious.

L: Okay?

A: I have reason to believe that Tom Collins is also known as a serial killer known as Deiros Momus.

L: I’m sorry, what?

A: I can’t explain why, but similar patterns make me think that.

L: You can’t tell me why you think my best friend is a serial killer?

A: No I can’t.

L: Well I think you’re wrong.

A: What do you want to do? Prove it by helping me solve the case?

L: That’s exactly what I’ll do.

A: Lola, you can’t, I was kidding.

L: There’s no way in hell that I’m letting you believe that my friend is a killer.

A: Tell me, how well do you really know him?

L: I’m going to help you solve this case and prove my friend is innocent. End of story.

Lola couldn’t believe Ajax, thinking Tom was some serial killer. Tom was an adorable little baby. A hot, adorable little baby, sure, but still. There was no way that Tom was a killer.

L: So how am I helping to free my friend of suspicion?

A: Lola…

L: I’m serious. Tell me where I need to be and I’ll be there.

A: Fine.

Lola smiled. She always got her way.

L: Great. When do we meet up?

A: Tomorrow. 5pm. I’ll send you the address.

L: See you tomorrow then.

Lola finally got up off of the couch and headed to her room. It was getting late. She eventually fell asleep. She had a busy day tomorrow.

She had the day off so she woke up later than usual. She woke up at 3pm. She quickly got ready. As she was getting ready, Ajax texted her the location where they were meeting up. Lola got there a few minutes earlier to find the front door open. She rang the doorbell but no one came to answer it.

She poked her head in. “Hello?”

She pushed the door open a little more, “Ajax?”

She made sure she had the right address one more time, which she did, before taking a step inside. She found empty boxes of take out on the coffee table in the living room. She noticed how the door that led to the basement was open. Light was spilling out. She walked down the stairs. She said, “Woah,” when she saw the basement with Ajax hunched over a desk.

Ajax was startled. He stood up quickly, accidentally hitting his head on a lamp, before turning around hiding what he was reading. “What is this?” Lola asked, walking over to the bookshelf devoid of books but filled with vials of different color liquids and bottles of herbs.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were here already,” Ajax said as an alarm went off on his phone.

He shut it off and turned back to Lola, “This is my Uncle’s basement.”

Lola turned to him, “You have a weird uncle.”

Ajax smiled and said, “Come on, all the stuff for the case is in my room,” Ajax said, walking over to the stairs and leading Lola up back to the living room.

Lola walked into his room, “You are seriously a neat freak,” Lola looked at the room, “It’s practically sparkling.

Ajax looked at her and smiled sarcastically. “I have to be clean because of…” He didn’t have a reason. “Yeah, I am a clean freak.”

Lola laughed. “Okay show me your “evidence,”” Lola said sarcastically, sitting on his bed.

“It isn’t exactly evidence. It’s an assumption,” Ajax clarified, sitting in his swivel chair.

“On what grounds? Also, what are all those books on your desk?” Lola said, taking her laptop out, noting the books on his desk.

Ajax quickly put them into one of the drawers. “Are they a secret romance novel?” Lola got up and walked over to the desk.

“No, they’re not,” Ajax tried to stop her from opening the drawer, “Let me tell you why I think Tom is a serial killer.”

Lola stopped attempting to open the drawer, “You’re good,” She squinted at him and backed off, sitting back onto the bed.

Ajax smiled. “Okay, the photos of Mei Morgan show severe meticulous cuts. Very precise. Something like that might be tied back to someone with OCD, like Tom,” Ajax said.

“Coincidence. 1 in 40 adults have OCD,” Lola pointed out.

Ajax nodded, “Yes, but that is not the only thing. Out of the victims we’ve found, they’re all female. Of course it could be a female committing the murders, but according to the families of the victims, they were all interested in males as far as they knew. So I’ve narrowed it down to a male committing the murders. Like I said, it can be a female, but the murderer being male is an assumption. Which would narrow down the OCD percentage too.”

Lola said, “Next.”

“Well, the next thing that I’m going off of is his knowledge in Greek mythology. The name Deiros Momus is carved onto the stomach of every one of the victims. While Deiros isn’t a Greek god, Momus is, and he’s the god of mockery,” Ajax said.

“So what about Deiros, genius?” Lola asked.

“I haven’t figured that part out yet,” Ajax admitted.

“So what makes you exactly think Tom is a killer?” Lola said.

“Well, I believe that the killer is a young male with OCD and has an in-depth knowledge of Greek mythology,” Ajax specified, “Does that describe anyone you know?”

“Okay, so Tom happens to check off everything that you just said, but I’m sure more than Tom qualifies for that list,” Lola pointed out.

“I know that,” Ajax said, “I’m telling you, it is just an assumption.”

“And what, let me guess. You think he’s some kind of monster?” Lola said sarcastically.

But Ajax gave her a weird look, like he was thinking. “Ajax, you know I was joking right? Monsters don’t exist,” Lola said.

Ajax glanced at the desk drawer he had placed his books into. “Ajax?” Lola asked.

Ajax shook his head and looked at her, “Sorry, I just had a random thought.”

”Ajax, what are those books in your desk actually about?” Lola asked, looking at the drawer once again.

Ajax hesitated. “You’re not going to kill me, are you?” Lola asked.

Ajax looked at her, confused. “Are you kidding?” Ajax responded.

“Yeah, but what are your books about?” Lola asked again.

Ajax stared at the desk drawer again debating whether or not to tell Lola the truth about the books. His uncle would kill him. But maybe… just maybe… she could help him solve the case as to whether or not the murderer was a human. “You’re not gonna believe me,” Ajax gave her a mournful look.

“Why does it look like you're picking flowers for my funeral?” Lola asked.

Ajax pulled open his desk drawer and pulled out his mother’s notebook, reading the title: Mariel Ross’ Tips and Tricks Regarding Magic. “This was written by my mom,” Ajax said, putting his hand on the cover, hiding the title from his vision.

“How did she die?” Lola asked.

“It has to do with this book. Lola, don’t flip out,” Ajax looked at her again.

Lola nodded. “Magic is real,” Ajax said seriously.

Lola looked at him, completely still. Then suddenly, she bursted into laughter. “You’re kidding, right?” Lola said mockingly.

She waited for Ajax to say, “Sike, just messing with you!” But instead he just sat there, quiet. “You’re being serious?” Lola asked, her eyebrows furrowed with a single one raised.

Ajax nodded. Lola’s eyes opened wide. “Why do you say that magic is real?”

“Because I’ve seen it,” Ajax said simply.

Lola was quiet. “My mom was killed by a monster when I was younger. My uncle takes care of me. He has since she died despite him having a grudge against my mom. A few days ago, he reintroduced me to magic. My mom used it to protect me and my uncle has given me tools to protect myself,” Ajax said.

He threw the book he was holding onto his bed towards Lola. She grabbed it, reading the title. She flipped through it, reading Ajax’s mother’s neat handwriting. “This is…” Lola shut the book, “Insane.”

“I know. It sounds crazy- No, actually, it just is crazy,” Ajax corrected himself.

“Yeah,” Lola put the book onto his bed, “And the other books?”

“One on spells, one on monsters, and one on potions and cures,” Ajax answered.

“Interesting. So now that I know, what are we gonna do?” Lola asked.

Ajax was surprised. “What do you mean?”

“Well, when I joked that Tom was a monster, you stared at your book drawer. You’re thinking that Tom isn’t human,” Lola said.

“Well, yes, but it's ridiculous. Of course, it would be harder to prove if you’ve known Tom since, I don’t know, when you were little, because it's hard to believe that a monster would stay in hiding for that long,” Ajax said.

“Well I didn’t so…” Lola bit her lip.

“I don’t think there is much we can do. I don’t know any magic,” Ajax said, “I just learned all this the other day.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right, but maybe I can help you. Maybe I can learn magic too with you,” Lola offered.

“That’s not how it works. You have to be compatible in order to do magic,” Ajax told her.

“Well maybe I am.”

Lola smiled. Ajax couldn’t resist smiling, “I guess we’ll see,” Ajax reached over and grabbed the book off of the bed.

He was putting it away when his uncle walked in, “The front door was-” He noticed Lola, surprised.

“Hello,” Lola said, waving and smiling.

“Hi. I’m Samuel Ross, you can call me Sam,” He said, slightly confused, then he turned to Ajax.

“Ajax, can I talk to you downstairs?” Sam said, walking out of the room.

“One moment, Lola,” Ajax said, following his uncle downstairs.

“Who is that? Why is she here? And you didn’t tell her about magic did you?” Sam blurted.

“That’s Lola Reeds. I met her a couple days ago. She’s here because she wants to help me solve the case, and yes I did. If she wants to help, she needs to know everything,” Ajax said.

“Ajax, you can’t just go around telling everyone about the magical realm, whether they’re helping you or not,” Sam said, “Besides, how is she going to help you?”

“I don’t know, Sam, but I’ll figure it out. I trust her,” Ajax said, “She’s a lot like me, actually.”

“You can’t trust everyone you just met, Ajax. You haven’t known this girl for more than a week, how can you possibly trust her?” Sam pointed out.

“Like I said, she’s like me. I trust her because of that. So if you can trust me with case work then you can trust her too. I have a good feeling about her,” Ajax argued.

“I trust you because you are my nephew, not a stranger I met a week ago!”

“Uncle!” Ajax said over him, “If you trust me- if you really do- then believe me. I think Lola really can help with this case. Not only because she’s the friend of someone I think might be the suspect but because she has good intuition.”

Sam looked into his nephew’s eyes. They had a fire, a passion, burning in them. “I do trust you, Ajax. Just don’t get hurt. Either of you,” He said dejectedly, grabbing his nephew’s shoulders. He patted them a few times then walked to his study. Ajax turned to him, “I have some work to finish up. I can buy food for her too for dinner if needed. And don’t let her stay too late, it’s not safe for a girl to go walking by herself in the middle of the night,” His uncle added before shutting his study door.

Ajax stood there for a moment, quiet, thinking about what had just happened. He eventually walked back up to his room to find Lola laying down on his bed reading one of the books on magic. She noticed him out of the corner of her eye. Lola sat up and looked at him, “Sorry, I get bored really easily, so I just grabbed one of the books.”

“It’s fine. I’m still reading through them myself,” Ajax yawned, opening his drawer to grab one of the books.

Soon they were both reading, losing track of time. Sam knocked on the door. “Sorry to bug you, but I bought food if you bookworms wanna come eat.”

Lola grabbed her phone, looking at the time. “Oh, wow. It’s getting pretty late,” Lola said, closing the book and setting it down on the bed, “I should go home. Kharis- my roommate- might start to worry.”

She stood up. “Are you sure you don’t want some food?” Sam asked.

Lola hesitated. “I’m sure I can stay for a little longer for food,” She said.

“Come on, let's go downstairs,” Ajax said, putting his book down also and headed downstairs with Lola and Sam.

Lola and Sam got along surprisingly well. Sam saw what Ajax meant when he said that him and Lola were alike. They really were. They both thought out of the box for solutions and both had an interesting take on the case. And surprisingly, she took the whole magic thing very well. She kept looking at her phone every few seconds, probably checking the time. “I guess you should be going now. Ajax, walk her home because it’s already late,” Sam said, cleaning the now empty cartons of Chinese food.

“Come on,” Ajax said, getting up off of the couch.

“Thank you Sam,” Lola said before following Ajax out of his house.

“Ajax, what happened between your mom and your uncle?” Lola asked as they walked to her house.

Ajax hesitated, “Well, when my dad was killed, my uncle argued that my mom was putting me in danger by using magic. My mom thought the opposite; she thought she was protecting me. So they left each other alone. He only came back when my mom died and he took care of me.”

“How sweet,” Lola said.

“What about you Ms. Reeds? Your parents?” Ajax asked.

Lola was quiet. “I’d rather not-”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Ajax interrupted.

They walked silently to the front of Lola’s house. “You didn’t have to walk me home, but thank you,” Lola stopped walking.

“Well, it was either take a 20 minute walk with you or get sucker punched by my uncle,” Ajax joked, making Lola laugh, “I’ll see you around Lola,” Ajax started walking away.

“Text me when you get home,” Lola called.

He turned around, gave her a thumbs while walking backwards, and said, “Go home,” before turning back around and walking away.

Lola smiled and walked into the apartment. When she closed her front door, she heard something crash from inside Kharis’ room. “Kharis? Are you okay?” Lola asked.

“I’m fine! Just dropped a cup!” Kharis called.

“Do you want me to bring you the broom?” Lola asked, putting her book bag down on the coffee table.

“Nope, it's fine!” Kharis said.

Lola glanced to the side, confused. She walked over to Kharis’ room and knocked, “Are you sure everything is alright?”

“I’m sure!” Kharis called, “Don’t come in my room Lola!”

Lola smiled, definitely knowing something- or someone- was in her room that she didn’t want Lola to see. “Okay, good night Kharis,” Lola walked across the hall into her room.

Lola changed then laid down. A few moments later she got a text from Ajax, “I’m home worrybug.” Lola smiled and texted him back, “There’s nothing wrong with making sure you’re safe.”

Lola shut her light off and fell asleep. She woke up in the middle of the night groggily. She sat up, sensing something was wrong and looked around her room. There was a shadow in the far corner that looked darker than the rest of the room. It made her feel… uncomfortable and...scared.

She turned the light on and gulped. The shadow didn’t even change with the new addition of light. It was just as black and opaque as it was when the light had been off. Lola froze, unable to move from fear. A cold breeze ran through the room and the shadow got closer to her.

“What are you?” Lola asked, her voice shaky.

The shadow didn’t speak but Lola heard it communicate in her mind. “You mean you don’t recognize me?” It asked her.

“Please just leave me alone,” Lola pleaded.

The shadow moved closer and closer to her, the room getting colder and colder each inch it got closer to Lola. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the doorbell rang a few times. Lola looked towards her bedroom door for a split second before turning back to the shadow. The room temperature quickly rose as the shadow was nowhere to be seen. The sudden change of temperature made Lola feel feverish, but she got up and opened the front door. “Are you all right?” Ajax was standing at the front door.

“What are you doing here?” Lola asked.

“I felt like something was wrong. Are you all right?” Ajax repeated.

“Yeah, it’s nothing-”

“What happened?” Ajax asked.

“It was just some… shadow. I don’t know,” Lola said, trying to stay calm.

Ajax looked at her, his eyes darting around her face, concerned. “Can you come in?” Lola asked, moving out of the way.

Ajax walked into her house. She led him to the couch and sat down. “What really happened Lola?” He asked her.

Lola almost started crying. “Lola-”

“I’m sorry, it’s just- I woke up, feeling like something was wrong. I turned the light on and there was a shadow. It made the room… cold… and it could speak in my mind. When I asked it what it was, it told me I already knew. And I do. It reminded me of my parents-” Lola’s voice cracked and tears started trailing down her face.

Ajax hugged her, wrapping his long arms around her shaking body. “It’s okay Lola,” Ajax said, holding her tight.

Lola was crying hard at this point. Ajax didn’t know what to do, so he kept comforting her. All Lola could think of was that night with her father...